Device for holding valve keepers



June ll, 1940. F. HILDENBRAND 2,204,309

DEVICE FOR HOLDING VALVE KEEPERS Filed March 4, 1938 v Il 2a l 1512,2319 0 3 l; [6311 5 A oRNEx "Hao " l vI )ler'nent in properloperative relationl and positionaarid to permitl the; proper actionofjthe. parts to attain thelplacing of ,keepers with Aease Patented junei keepers.v e Y f e l. v

is a further.` ohje'ctto presenta'novel*conf f.i.lbnvlonrron,HoLDiNGNAIJvEjKEEBESl 1,' Y rfaga-'15e nilqentranagistomach; ycanili f "The'invention relatesto'meanstofacilitate the v tO11- i and muchlo'ss of tirneitoffsayynothing of `thelper-` sonal injurysuffered bythe lingers 'of the worker.

heccminggcaught asthe valve-springis released.

tion'to providea'slender pliers devicefwhich will hold 'the keepersinproper" spaced relation-ith .pass

on each rside of the valvestern, andftopresen't theni on 'the stem'whilethezfspringf-valve cornlpressedv thereabove-is released with itsseatcollar so that the latter engageslproperlyfaroundnthe struction vinmeans -to holdthe parts of irn-v limplement;"- l Figure 3 isa'iragmentary top View showing `the f extreme end portions offthe jaws'withthe fkeep-` oro 'Additional obj ects'," Vadvantages and kfea'iairesvof invention reside in .the construction, 'arranger'.

ment andcombination or parteinvolvedl inl fthe embodiment@ftheVim/ergehen,` as Wiuappear from `the following `vdescriptionand-accompanying "drawing" representing full "siz'e'j one vof the-4pos--` j sible forms ofv the'd'evicjas heretoforev actually used. In'the drawing', ,o Figure 1 is a top .View offan implementemloody-v .ingtheinvention' in inoperative position; -f v VFigure 2,1`is`afhorizontalfsection thr ers engaged inthe device, and as'finitiallypref sented to'fthe valve stem.

Figure 4.- is asideviewof Figure 3, snowing the seat collar andvalvespringg y Figure'f is a viewv smilarto- Figure 3, showing thefaction of j the `device 1 in applying 'thefkeep'ers tothe stem in aninitial stage."` l FigureGjis asimilar View` showi of the' emplacementof the lrleepersvv There is illustrated a' ypa1r o1" pliers formed'ofsheet metal and c'omprising'two opposedfjawsj l5 of identicalcomplementary frmgfU shaped in `cross section and having integralhandleportions il continuedv therefrom,"ears l2 rloeing-Tformedas inwardextensions from ythe' ledgesgof' the' f-niem. bers at the-junction ofthe jaws and thandlea. on each side,:softhatthere'are four vears.rI"hese arev -It'is therefore an' important aimoi the inVen-k proper"operative. position 'andso hold f .the `pintle ugh the ng l completionyclosed, including a helix arran'gedloosely around If3,and arms-1 5extending divergently yconnectedhyxra commonxpintlebolt I3 extendedIthere'through'v.` vTheja'ws are tapered suitably'to .avoid bulkinessatthevextremities vand yet ampley ruggedne'ssfor rough .usagein themachine'shop, Vand-When closed asin .Figure f1, their inner edgesrare-parallel; while ltheirjouterysides diverge` sligl'itly .from their:extremities toif'the pivotgfand .frornwgthis `.partthethandles .Ina-y.diverge Sat y.a .greater.angle'if` desired;v Their dimension .over .allyon ,theiry major transversel dimension at the pivotisalittleioverioneginch and 'with'. keepers n-finplac'eithehextremities-areiabout3A rinch wide,

' soithat-.theyido notl occupy .much space within 'a valver pox,y whenin.` use.` v A .spring I 4 vis `.provided tovkeepithe, handlesyieldingly apart and the. jaws within Athe blight portions-f of.Arespective handles.

v'The 1 extremities of the jaws f arershaped to pre- '.sent opposedyvcurved-cl'arriping members l? or.

fcup,g.parts,the v jcontinuation;.o-f the lowerside portion of thebodylower side-being formed with a fotvthe jaw forming 'a .step` flange i6on which v a keeper may'- restwhen `engaged therein, the intermediatepart being slightlyo offset k:and the :flangev may extendfupwardlyfromthefdevice'. ,30

The eurvedpartsfl maybe slightly linclined `in .Slidablebetween thejawsv there is `a plunger Y* orvspacer "18 @formed from a; blank havingsub- "stantiallythefshape of across,.the stem 1970i andimmediately'adjacent the plane of the Aflanges IB. -Stops'22.arel-providedat the ends of the arms I toj'limitiopeni'ng movementofthe jawsl andpreventthearms A2| from becoming disengaged;l .ThebodygportionU of` the plungeris hat" "fr-throughout, but attlfie forwardend "yond -.the arms o portion be- 2lV sidefportions 23Uare-vbentupwardin parallel relation `forming anges which will :receive thevvu`pper \f, dge vportions ooi the' jaws inwardlyofthe cup partsslidably thereagainst,4v @at times; 1 movement ofthev plunger outward,'so thatv when 4pressed `forward it stops with vits extremity betweenthe` outerfextrenties ofthe jaws, as in Fig- The slot 2,0 is of a lengthto limit `@upper part valcove-the "flange I6 curved soU as.toIpartlyencirclea-keeper; n The cup partsareopen `1 atthe upper side .sothata 'keeperresting on the whichfis longitudinallyaslotted.'atAZllandhas the pintlel I3 engaged therethrough, while. the lateral jarms. 2,1 are projected!r through vlongitudinal slots. 1 j 12|ingthe'jaws, sothat'theplunger is held in 'plane'parallelftogthef'n'iajor plane of the devicev ure 2, and on retractionthe plunger is stopped inwardly of the cup parts of the jaws, as inFigure 1. The outer end of the plunger may be slightly recessed as at24', so that it may be easily steadied against the side of a valve stemin the use to be described.

The inner end portion of the plunger, between the handles II and at asuitable short distance from the ears I2 is bent upwardly at rightangles and extended a distance above the handles, forming a roundedtransverse nger-piece 25 by which the plunger may be manipulated asrequired. Pivoted on the pintle I3 over the forward part of the plungerthere is a keeper or latch lever 26 which is extended rearwardly betweenthe handles through a suitable slot 21 in the upturned finger piece 25,in which the lever is slidable. The lever is notched on one side as at28, to receive the edge portion of the finger piece 25 therein when thelever is pressed in that direction, and the lever is extended rearwardlyfrom this notch a distance greater than the length of the slot 20, sothat it is always retained in the linger-piece. The lever 26 has an arm29 p'ositioned at an angle less than 180 degrees extended forwardlybeyond the pintle I3 between the jaws and curved laterally toward thesame side in which the notch 28 is formed; and anchored to the aperturedextremity of this arm there is a contractile spring 3U, engaged with ahook 3l struck from the forward part of the plunger I8, so that thelatter is held yieldingly at the rear limit of its movement when thenotch 28 is disengaged from the finger-piece 25, and will be r drawnrearwardly from its forward position when the latch lever is moved toreleased position. The lateral curvature of the arm 29 causes thenotchededge of the latch lever to press against the adjacent edge of the slot2l, so that when the plunger is pressed to forward. position, thelatchlever will automatically engage and hold it so extended.

The plunger is preferably made with a width between the jaws I equal toor slightly more than the diameter of a valve stem. The keepers referredto are illustrated at 32, and are used in place of the pin formerlyinserted through the valve stem to support the valve spring seatorwasher. The valve stem 33 is necked or reduced in diameter near itsextremity as at 34, forming a recess or channel around the stem. Thekeep,- ers are substantially a diam-etrically split conical collar setin the neck with the smaller part toward the spring 35, and are engagedin a onepiece collar 36 internally tapered to receive snugly the taperedouter faces of the keepers therein. The collar 36 is extended within thespring slightly and flanged to aord a proper seat for the spring, as isknown.

In the use of the invention, for emplacement of the keepers, incident toengaging the valve spring in proper operative relation to the valve, thevalve is put in place, the spring 35 and collar 36 adjusted therearoundwith the collar raised above the neck of the stem by a valve springlifter 3l. The neck 34 is thus exposed for emplacement of the keepers.

The jaws Il) are opened and the finger-piece 25 pressed forwarduntil thelatch 26 engages,

and then the handles are compressed while the finger piece 25 is pressedfirst to one side and then to the other, allowing insertion of thekeepers in the cup parts at respective sides of the plunger. The toolmay be manipulated with one hand in this operation, while the other handof the user is employed to insert the keepers properly in place in thetool. Both keepers will now be held pressed by the respective jawsagainst opposite rsides `oi the plunger, by which they are held spacedapart at their normally meeting sides surliciently to admit a valve stemtherebetween. 'Ihe tool is now presented to the valve stem so that thenotched end of the plunger abuts the side of the valve stem at the lowerpart of the neck 34, resting on the shoulder 38 forming the lower limitof the neck. Without compressing the handles, pressure is applied to therear side of the finger piece 25 just suflicient to balance the tensionof the spring 30, and the latch lever 26 pressed to released position.The pressure on the finger piece is then relieved sufciently to allowthe tool to be moved forwardly while the spacer draws inward as inFigure 5, which is 'done,'the tool moving the keepers beside the neckportion of the stem 35. The spring I4 causes the jaws to continue inwardpressure, serving to press the keepers inward against the plunger andthe neck upon which they slide until they meet at the far side. Forwardmovement of the tool is then discontinued, while the plunger is allowedto be drawn from between the keepers, when they will be snapped togetherby the jaws of the tool under action of the spring I4. My tool is leftso engaged with the keepers while the spring lifter 31 is operated tolower the collar around the upper parts of the keepers and the collar isallowed to press the jaws of the tool downward or the tool is presseddownwardly manually until it `clears the keepers, at which time thecollar will be so closely engaged with them as to retain them until theycome to a seat within the collar.

In regulating the movement of the spacer from While in grasp. Thisavoids accidental pivotal movement of the handles which may occur ifthey are retained both within the grasp. Also, the forward part of thedevice'may be grasped Y between the thumb and forenger as at B, Fig.

2, just back of the arms 2i, and the slip of the spacer regulated by thepressure of the iingers against'the jaws, as a brake, allowing the jawsto graduallyslip forward.

I claim:

1. A device `of the character described comprising relatively movableclamping members having shank portions longitudinally slotted andpivoted mountings therefor, a spacer longitudinally slidable between theclamping members and slidably mounted with respect to said mountings,and having arms extended through the slots of respective Shanks andbeyond, said spacer having an operative piston when moved to a positionbetween the clamping members whereby to hold the clamping members apart,said clamping members and spacer being constructed to permit closing ofthe clamping members when the spacer is at the retracted or inoperativeposition. v

2. A device of the character described comprising relatively movableclamping members and means tooperate them, a spacer longitudinallyslidable between the clamping members and including a right angularportion having a extended position, the device may be grasped by slot, alever device pivoted on the spacer and direction of said edge and notch,and a spring' connected between the extremity of said arm and thespacer, for the purposes described.

3. A device of the character described comprising pivoted jaws havingopposed cup p0rtions atv their extremities and having operating handlesoppositely extended from the pivot,

lspring means to close the jaws, a spacer slidable longitudinallybetween thejaws having an inner part longitudinally slotted, said pivotinm cluding a pintle through the slot', a lever pivoted on the pintlebeside the' spacer, the inner part of the spacer having a-nger-pieceextended. laterally of the plane of oscillation of the pivoted members,said lever having a notch to engage one edge of the finger-piece as adetent, said lever further having an arm extended obliquely of the pathof sliding movement of the spacer and a spring connected between theextremity of said arm and the spacer, tending to draw the spacer to onelimit of its movement, and said arm being inclined a direction to causesaid notch to be pressed toward said edge of the ngerpiece.

4. A device of the character described cornprising jaws having opposedcup portions at their extremities andr having oppositely extendedoperating handles connected thereto, spring means to close the jaws, aspacer slidable longitudinally between the jaws and having a laterallypresented edge portion, means vto hold the spacer in slidable relationbetween the jaws, a lever pivoted inwardly of the jaws forwardly of saidedge portion, said lever having a notch extending from one side thereofto engage said edge portion at times and having a forwardly extended armobliquely extended with respect to the lever in the same direction asthe notch, and a spring connected between the extremity ofthe arm andthe slide whereby to draw the slide rearwardly and press the notchedside of the lever against said edge portion.

FREDERICK HILDENBRAND.

